Letter: Protection for pensions secure

TERESA Hunter's article 'Crisis looms for pensions safety net' (Business, 29 August) wrongly asserts that the Pension Protection Fund has admitted that it will struggle to prop up a growing number of company pension schemes, and that this is putting a huge pressure on the government's ability to underwrite the PPF.

The PPF is completely independent of government. It is self financed through the assets of schemes that it takes over, an annual industry levy, and its own investment returns. Rather than suggesting that the PPF is struggling, the funding strategy which we published last month shows how, on the contrary, we intend to ensure that we have the financial resources needed to pay existing levels of compensation and become financially self-sufficient by 2030. We believe that this will further reassure our members, now and in the future, that their compensation comes from a stable and trusted source.

Alan Rubenstein, chief executive, Pension Protection Fund, Croydon